Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. During operation, air is pressurized in the compressor section. The pressurized air is mixed with fuel and burned in the combustor section to generate hot combustion gases. The hot combustion gases are communicated through the turbine section, which extracts energy from the hot combustion gases to power the compressor section and other gas turbine engine loads. The compressor section typically includes low pressure and high pressure compressors, and the turbine section includes low pressure and high pressure turbines.
The compressor and turbine sections of a gas turbine engine typically include alternating rows of rotating blades and stationary vanes. Turbine and compressor rotors may include a rotor disk and a plurality of circumferentially spaced turbine blades. For instance, the high pressure turbine section may include one or more turbine disks coupled together to form a disk stack. Because the disk stack rotates within the engine at high speeds, the disk stack may be rotationally balanced to reduce vibration. At least one disk in the disk stack may include a cover plate to which one or more balance weights is coupled, thereby balancing the disk stack. Disks and cover plates may be subject to high radial forces. The balancing weights may introduce stress concentrations in the cover plate.